


A history of very public mistakes

by confusedsatanist



Series: Youtube! au [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura is a Literal Princess, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Conventions, Cuban Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Gay Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, They all live in LA, YouTube, awkward beans, broganes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-06-24 09:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15627828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confusedsatanist/pseuds/confusedsatanist
Summary: YouTube conventions - simple enough, right?It was Pidge who decided it was destiny - you meet the love of your life at your first convention. Lance and Hunk were inclined to agree. Shiro wasn't so sure.Tales of slushies, anime, video games and true love (not necessarily in that order)A series of short one shots at various points in time set in the YouTube au universe.





	1. Lance's First Convention

**LANCE’S FIRST CONVENTION: AGE 19**

19-year-old Lance was new to this game. He’d been doing YouTube for two years and earned himself a small but loyal fanbase. He decided that this convention would be the best thing ever. Sure, he’d technically never been to a convention before, but it couldn’t be that difficult to manage, right?

     He was wrong. Lance rushed into the convention centre, ten minutes late, slushie in one hand and phone in the other, and promptly got lost.

     Of course, his perfectly reasonable conclusion was to find the nearest youtuber and ask them where the fuck he was supposed to be going. He scanned the hall, filled with excited teenagers and bored-looking security guards. He grew more anxious as he couldn’t spot anyone wearing a pass the same as his.

     He spun around with the intent of just leaving, before this could get any worse, and slammed directly into a woman. His slushie and phone both went flying.

     Lance heard the surprised yelp of the woman he’d just walked into but ignored her in favour of diving for his phone. He checked the screen and saw with a sinking heart that the screen was shattered.

     “Fucking hell.” He moaned into the floor.

     “You can say that again.” A woman’s voice replied, laced with amusement. Lance sprung to his feet and found himself eye-to-eye with a rather beautiful woman. A beautiful woman who’s cloud of white hair was dripping with blue raspberry slushie. She watched him fumble for a moment, one eyebrow raised.

     “Uh… I’m really sorry.” Lance began. He looked her up and down and recognised her creator’s pass. He flushed even redder. ‘Jesus fuck, I’m a disaster.”

     “Seems so.” The woman said, corners of her lips twitching. Lance hesitated, before sticking out his hand.

     “Lance. Uh, McClain. I make youtube videos?” He said, wanting nothing more than to go home and hide under his duvet. To his surprise, she took his hand and shook it amicably.

     “Allura Altea. I also make youtube videos.” She said. “I confess I came over here to ask you for help. I’m lost?”

     Lance couldn’t fight back a laugh anymore. She seemed surprised as the gangly man in front of her dissolved into choked laughter.

    “Sorry. I’m lost as well.” He said. “I’m lost, and I threw my slushie all over you, I broke my phone, and I have no clue what I’m doing.” He laughed again, and this time Allura joined in.

     “Okay.” He said, once they’d calmed a little. “Let’s ask security for help.”

 

They wove through the crowd, Lance picking up on how star-struck people became when Allura walked past. He thought nothing of it, though, other than assuming she was probably just more famous than he was.

     “Kolivan?” Allura said, tapping an intimidating-looking security guard on the shoulder. “We were wondering where we’re supposed to go?” The tall man’s expression didn’t change, but he held up a finger to them.

     He walked off, leaving Allura to stand looking graceful and Lance to fidget awkwardly with the hem of his jacket. Kolivan returned a moment later with a young man.

     “This is Keith. He was _supposed_ to meet you at the entrance. He’ll take you to the creator’s area.” Kolivan said. Keith waved sarcastically, shoulder-length black hair falling in his face. Lance raised an eyebrow at the man, who flipped him off.

     “Nice to meet you, Keith. I’m Allura.” Allura said with a smile. Keith nodded and gave her a small, forced smile. Lance just stared.

     “Allura, Lance, follow me.” He sighed and took off through the crowd. The two youtubers followed at a slightly slower pace, relieved to finally know where they’re going. When they arrived, Allura turned to keith with a shy smile.

     “Do you know where the bathrooms are. I need to clean…” She gestured to the blue liquid still dripping down her hair and shirt. Keith glanced at Lance again, amused, and Lance buried his face in his hands. The dark-haired man pointed Allura in the direction of the women’s toilets, watched her leave, and folded his arms.

     “Fancy seeing you here, McClain.” The boy said with a smirk. Lance didn’t look up.

     “Shut up, Keith, I’m literally dying over here.” He said.

     “You haven’t changed, have you.” Keith laughed. “Still the same adorable mess.”

     “Sorry, what?” Lance finally looked up from his hands. Keith blushed and cleared his throat.

     “Nothing. So, how’s life for you?” He said.

     “Eh. Trying to survive at Garrison Uni with my youtube career at the same time. Got dumped recently. You?” Lance said.

     “I’m not sure. I want to do Physics, but the way I’m going I’ll end up as a high school teacher. I’ve been working with Kolivan and Antok doing security, so I can pay rent. My brother got me this job, so I should probably thank him, but I hate it.” Keith lent against the wall. “Had a load of weird family issues. Turns out Kolivan knew my mom. My life is a mess.”

     Lance looked at him with surprised eyes. He hadn’t seen Keith since they were fourteen, rivals in class, and always arguing. He was surprised to see that the boy wasn’t as standoffish as he had been years before. He seemed… friendly. “Wow, I was a dick in school.” Lance said, mostly to himself. Keith grinned.

     “We both were. Fresh start?” He held out his hand, and Lance shook it. “Now, you should probably apologise to the princess that you spilt slushie all over.”

     “She’s a princess?!”


	2. Chapter 2

**PIDGE’S FIRST CONVENTION: AGE 17**

Pidge, Lance and Hunk entered the convention hall the way they entered most places; loudly and with unnecessary glee. The now-established Garrison Trio, term coined by Hunk after several late-night dorm room discussions, burst into the room, Pidge sat on Hunk’s shoulders and Lance just ahead of them. They were laughing loudly, and every head in the room turned to face them.

     Of course, most of the people in the room were fans of the three Youtubers. They ended up swarmed by people clamouring for autographs and photos and loving every second of it. They laughed and joked with each other and the crowd, until Pidge excused herself.

     She wove through the crowd easily, being so small and still fairly new to the youtube scene. Pidge ignored the people surrounding her, making a beeline for the one other person there that she recognised.

     Pidge, being Pidge, decided that the best course of action upon seeing her impressively buff friend was to attempt to climb him. Shiro, to his credit, remained completely unfazed as she settled on his back, her chin on his shoulder.

     “Hey.” She whispered in his ear. Shiro prised her off of him and patted her awkwardly on the head.

     “Heya, Pidge.” He glanced around suspiciously. “Where are the others?”

     “I don’t keep those suckers on a leash, you know.” She said, then paused. “Actually, that might not be a bad idea.”

     Shiro, to his credit, looked a little worried. She grinned at him and allowed the man to guide her around the convention centre. “I have a few friends I want you to meet.”

 

Before Pidge and Shiro could reach whoever Shiro was trying to introduce her to, they were accosted by her two overexcited partners. Lance was tossing around a bright pink baseball bat, happily ignoring Shiro’s worried ‘Where did you GET that??’, and Hunk was wearing more merch than Pidge thought possible for one man.

     Shiro, despite looking mildly overwhelmed, powered on, and the three followed him through the crowd. They chatted amicably, until Lance stopped, mid-sentence.

     “SLUSHIE??”

     A tall girl, who had been talking to another man, whipped around at the sound of Lance’s voice. She spotted him, and her face broke into a grin. “Lance!” She ran at him, and gathered him into a bone-crushing hug.

     Pidge wasn’t paying attention to their interaction, though. She was staring at the girl’s strong features, her flawless skin, and her miles of soft-looking white hair. It wasn’t until Hunk nudged her that she realised her jaw had been hanging open. She blinked a few times, trying to convince herself that the woman in front of her wasn’t an actual goddess.

     “Katie, right?”

     Oh god, the supermodel was talking to her.  Act natural, Pidge.

     “I go by Pidge, actually. Nice to meet you, uh…?”

     “My name’s Allura Altea.” She hesitated, before leaning down to whisper into Pidge’s ear. “But you can call me tonight.”

     Pidge didn’t think it was possible to get any redder, until Allura turned to whisper excitedly to Lance with _the_ most adorable face. She ran a hand down her face, talking herself out of proposing then and there. Suddenly something hit her.

     “Wait. Allura Altea. As in, Princess Allura?” She said. Allura nodded vigorously.

     "Shiro told me about you all. And I know Lance." Allura said, smiling. “Let me introduce you to my guardian, Coran. I’m staying with him while I’m living in America.” she continued, pulling the man she had been talking to earlier forwards. He had vibrantly ginger hair and an even more vibrant smile.

     “Delightful to meet you all.” The man said, giving them a sweeping bow. “And lovely to see you again, Lance.”

     Pidge watched with curiosity as Lance blinked, before his face morphed into sudden realisation, and he turned bright red. The conversation moved on.

 

“So, how come Coran knew you?” She asked him casually, a little bit later. The others had wandered off, Allura and Hunk to the Voltron booth and Shiro to his meet and greet.

     “Uh, no reason?” Lance tried. Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Okay so I may have stolen his cat.”

     “I beg your pardon?”

     “It was dark, and I thought it was Blue! Don’t judge me! It’s an easy mistake to make!” Lance protested. Pidge laughed, and he scowled at her. “I hate you.”

     “Love you too. You reckon you can get me Allura’s number for the small price of my silence about this wonderful story?”

     Lance wordlessly handed her a small slip of paper, written on with a delicate, cursive handwriting.

     ‘ _To Pidge, xxx-xxx-xxx_

_call me!”_

"She gave it to me ages ago." He said. Pidge squealed. 

Suddenly, she turned to Lance with a smirk.

      “Are you still dating Keith?” She asked.

     “Uh, yeah? We just had our one-year anniversary.” Lance replied, puzzled. "You know this." 

     “And you met him at a convention.” She said.

      “Well, technically—"

     “Shush. It’s _destiny._ ”

     “What is?”

     “We’re all gonna meet the love of our lives at a youtube convention.” She said gleefully. Lance paused.

     “Wait. What’s Hunk doing now?”

     Pidge’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go be the best wingmen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus, but I got major whiplash from season 7 and I've BARELY recovered. 
> 
> I've decided this AU is going to give everyone the happiness they need. 
> 
> Also I'm not going to be queer-baiting anything. Suck it, dreamworks.
> 
> <3


	3. Shiro's worst convention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘So how did you two meet?’  
>  The official story, the one Adam and Shiro has decided was the less humiliating of the two, was that they’d met during Shiro’s time in the air force.   
>  It was a cute story, and never failed to impress people with how romantic it was. The thing was, it wasn’t... exactly... true.

**SHIRO’S WORST CONVENTION- AGE 19**

“For the last time, Pidge, Shiro’s the exception!” Lance exclaimed loudly. Shiro twisted his body awkwardly, to face the three young adults in the back. Adam, from the driver’s seat, shot him a sympathetic glance.

     “Exception to what?” Shiro asked.

     “The rule! You know, you meet your true love at your first convention! Lance met Keith, I met Allura, and Hunk met Romelle. It’s like... fate.” Pidge explained animatedly.

     “It doesn’t apply to you and Adam, though. You guys have been together since you were in flight school.” Lance said with a sigh. “Maybe it only applies to youtubers that aren’t _dads._ ”

     “I’m not your dad, Lance.” Shiro said.

     “Ha! That’s just what someone who was secretly my dad would say!”

     “What the fuck.” Shiro deadpanned. Adam laughed from besides him.

     “I think Pidge is right.” Adam interjected. “We did meet for the first time at a convention. Technically…”

     Shiro shot him a warning look. “We promised not to talk about it, babe.”

     “ _Oh shit.”_ Pidge stage-whispered. “ _Shiro called him babe. It’s SERIOUS.”_

“It’s a funny story though. Anyway, it’s not like they don’t know about the anime thing.”

  

     “The _what?”_

 

_‘So how did you two meet?’_

_The official story, the one Adam and Shiro has decided was the less humiliating of the two, was that they’d met during Shiro’s time in the air force. Adam had just left flight school, Shiro a year or so out having graduated early, and they met two days before Shiro was deployed. Shiro promised to take Adam out for coffee when he got back to America. He came back on a stretcher, but still held good on his promise despite the disabilities._

_It was a cute story, and never failed to impress people with how romantic it was. The thing was, it wasn’t... exactly... true._

_When Shiro was in university, he’d found work, between studying and sleeping, in voice acting. He’d found a surprising amount of success in that line of work, but his most notable achievement was the voice of the main character in a popular anime dub. A side affect of this, however, meant he was dragged to conventions across the country, talking about the anime._

_It was at one particular convention that he met a then-nineteen-year-old Adam. Adam, to his defense, had been dragged there by his exceedingly large family, the hoard of small cousins and siblings that he almost immediately lost to the colorful sights of the con. Somehow, he’d ended up swept away by the crowds and witnessed what Shiro maintained was the most embarrassing moment of his life. Shiro was, as he had been asked, dressed up in full cosplay, and the helmet he had been shoved into made it difficult to see what he was doing on the stage from which he was answering questions._

_Adam was sat in the front row, his small cousin practically vibrating beside him in excitement. He never really understood the hype but was amused by the tired-sounding actors in full costume, so was content to listen._

_Shiro had admittedly never been the most graceful of people, but that doesn’t particularly excuse falling face-first off a shallow stage and crashing into the poor unsuspecting man sat innocently enjoying the panel._

_Adam’s chair folded under the combined weight of him and Shiro, and the flustered actor pulled the other man to his feet with a stream of rushed apologies._

“Hold on!” Shiro cut in. “I didn’t apologize _that_ much! I just…felt bad. I fell directly onto you. It looked like it hurt.” He said sheepishly. Adam laughed loudly.

     “It didn’t hurt, I think I was more… surprised.” He replied. Adam parked the car, then turned to their friends in the back. Lance, Pidge and Keith were staring at the pair with wide eyes.

     “I thought Matt was taking the piss.” Pidge said. “I can’t believe you really were in one of the best anime of this decade!” Shiro face-palmed but was grinning in spite of himself.

     “I mean think about it, it’s obvious he’d done voice acting before. Shay wouldn’t let just ANYONE voice a character in Voltron. That show is her pride and joy.” Lance said. Pidge shrugged.

     “She let you.”

     “Hey!”

 

_Shiro was still apologizing to Adam later in the day, face-planted on the table in a bar only a short walk from the convention center. The other man had only found it funny, but seeing Shiro’s genuine guilt, had allowed him to buy him a drink._

_And Adam found himself quickly falling for the disaster of a man in front of him._

_“So this little shit thinks it’s a good idea to just start scaling the wall, and I’m trying to explain to him- bear in mind, he’s 14, so he can think for himself- but I look up and he’s already sat on the roof, just eating this tub of definitely not lactose free ice cream—”_

_They talk for a while longer, and Adam learns how Shiro’s a few years off joining the military, how his parents adopted Keith when he was 15 and keith was 10, how he’d been openly gay since he was 16 – good to know – and how it had always been his dream to go to space._

_As Shiro was getting up to leave, Adam grabbed his right arm. He pulled out a pen and scribbled something on the skin._

_‘If you’re ever around and you want to make it up to me for falling on my lap.” Adam supplies, before walking out and getting dragged away almost immediately by hoards of children._

_XXX-XXX-XXX_

_Adam_

_Call me :)_

 

_Shiro could tell he was going to really like this guy._

Adam smiled widely.

     “Look at us now, honey. over ten years later and we made it in one piece!”

     Shiro grinned. “Mostly.”

****

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updating twice in one day? Im on a roll!
> 
> Here's Shiro and Adam's meet-cute. This one's been in my head for a while, ngl
> 
> (Shiro and Adam are roughly 30 in the main story)
> 
> <3


End file.
